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The Baby Guide Disneyland

Disneyland is one of my favorite places.
I first got an annual pass when I was around 10 years old. My mom and I used to go all the time. Then when my niece was born, I would go with my sister and her family. And now that I have my own family, Disney passes were the first thing on the list to splurge on. So whether you have an annual pass, going for the day, or on vacation with your family, if you have a little one, this post is for you!

DIAPER CHANGING/FEEDING

This is the biggest concern when going to the parks. Disneyland (DL) and Disney’s California Adventure (DCA) have made it so convenient for babies and parents. In every single restroom, both men and women (that’s a biggie for me!), there are 1-2 changing tables. These are built into the walls so there is no worry about the flimsy tables that pull down from the wall and feel like they’re going to break. Each bathroom stall is spacious and they have rolls of toilet paper in case you need it.

However, my favorite are the Huggies Baby Centers. Each park has one that is centrally located and easy to access. In DL, it is located at the end of Main Street on the right, next to the Corn Dog Stand (the famous corn dogs that are delicious!). In DCA, it is located at the Wharf, next to the Cars Land and the Ghirardelli store. These Baby Centers are amazing. There is a room full of comfortable changing tables and toddler toilets, there are enclosed spaces for nursing in private, and they have a stock room filled with bottles, formula, baby food, medicine, and snacks just in case you forgot something at home or run out (I accidentally forgot bottles one time and this really came in handy). The DCA center even has high-chairs so you can feed your baby food! Both centers have a little area at the entrance that has a small table and chairs where they play a Disney movie for the kids to watch and relax.

Keep in mind this is NOT a daycare! You cannot leave your children alone here. They will stop you if you try to leave without your kids and call security if you do.

BABIES & RIDES

Even though we have a baby in tow, we still want to ride rides. (I mean, I’m not opposed to walking around and just shopping but Bret is, haha) There are plenty of baby friendly rides at DL and DCA. These rides are perfect for babies and toddlers who don’t quite hit the height requirement for some of the bigger rides. Disneyland has a lot more baby friendly rides, so we spend most of our time there.

However, if you are itching to ride the bigger rides, don’t worry! You have two options that are essentially the same: fastpasses or baby swap. Fastpasses are tickets that you can get that basically cuts your wait time down significantly. A lot of the more popular rides have fastpasses, such as Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Haunted Mansion at DL, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Soarin’ Over the World, and the Incredibles rollar coaster at DCA.

To get a fastpass, you insert your ticket or annual pass into the kiosk at the designated place (find it on the map), and out pops another ticket with a time frame on it, such at 1:30pm to 2:30pm. This is your redemption time, which means you come back to that ride in between that time frame and you can ride the ride. Sometimes if you catch it just right, you can get a fast pass at 11:50am and the redemption start time will be at 12:10pm. We’ve had this happen a lot for Haunted Mansion. When it’s time to redeem your fastpass, go to the entrance of the ride and scan your ticket! But keep your ticket out because most rides will scan it a second time (it’s their way of ensuring no one jumps the line).

To do a baby swap, it’s essentially the same thing, except instead of going to a kiosk and getting a ticket, you go to the Cast Member at the beginning of the ride and they give you a fast pass for a later time that is designated as baby swap.

For both fastpasses and baby swap, you’ll have a few people from your group go on the ride while some others stay off. Then when the first group gets off the ride, you’ll switch. This may seem like a simple concept, but you’d be surprised how many families I’ve run into that either have the same person sit out on all the rides (usually it’s the mom) or they just don’t go on that ride. This is a great way to ensure that everyone gets to ride the rides they want and ensure that everyone is having fun!

Pro Tip: if you visit during the summer and it’s hot, there are a couple places to go to get out of the heat and into some air conditioning. In DL check out Mr. Lincoln on Main Street, the Tiki Room in Adventureland, the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square, or Small World in Fantasyland. In DCA check out the Animation Station or Frozen the Musical in the Hollywood Backlot.

MERCHANDISE

It can be a tad difficult to find baby merchandise that is small enough for a baby or an child under 2. Both parks have one designated baby store. In DL, it’s on Main Street and it’s the Disney Clothing Co., about halfway down Main Street. In DCA, it’s in Elias and Co. which is right when you walk into the park on the left. Both parks have some baby merchandise scattered throughout the park, such as a one piece outfits, character outfits, or sweatshirts that are specific to a certain character or movie.

The tip I’d like to note here is cold weather clothes. If you come during the “winter” months (I put it in parentheses because winter in California is nothing compared to the rest of the country, haha), you might find it difficult to find cold weather clothes or accessories if you forget to bring some or bring things that aren’t warm enough. One time when we went in December, it was really cold by California standards and we didn’t bring a hat for Amelia. We searched everywhere and finally found a set in the baby store on Main Street that included a beanie and mitts. We used them for the rest of winter whenever we were out and about at night, whether we were at the parks or not.